Today's Google Doodle: Maria Callas!

Last edited Mon Dec 2, 2013, 04:27 AM - Edit history (1)

First of all, I love opera. Second, if you do not love opera you probably have never heard of Maria Callas.

Her iconic roles are legendary. Norma, Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, but the role which is the iconic Callas one is Puccini's Tosca.

Here it is:

(On edit: this is the great one.)

For those who do not have the patience to listen to the entire opera, here is a segment from the second act where Tosca, when evil Scarpia agrees to let Tosca's imprisoned lover go free if Tosca agrees to be Scarpia's gal, she waits for Scarpia to sign the release papers for her beau. As Scarpia attempts to embrace her she sings, "This is Tosca's kiss!" and Tosca plunges a knife from Scarpia's table into his chest.

Nobody ever did that scene better than Maria Callas which is one of the reasons why she is today's Google Doodle.

Here's that scene:


The end of the opera takes place on the parapet of the Castle Saint Angelo in Rome. Tosca's lover is to go through a fake execution, but Scarpia (who Tosca killed during the second act) has made the execution to be real. When her lover dies, Tosca pitches herself off the parapet into the Tiber, singing "Scarpia I will see you before god." . And the opera ends.

It is a profoundly wonderful narrative. And nobody did it better than Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi. Their 1953 recording is legendary.

Wiki: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosca_(1953_EMI_recording)

Don't get me started about other Callas performances. I think I've done enough damage on her great Tosca.